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Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook Jr. (born November 12, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Westbrook played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins and earned third-team all-conference honors in the Pac-10. He was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics, who then relocated to Oklahoma City six days later. The point guard is a five-time NBA All-Star and a two-time NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP), winning consecutive awards in 2015 and 2016. He is also a four-time All-NBA Second Team member. Westbrook has also represented the United States on their national team twice, winning gold medals in the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Olympics. Early years Westbrook is the son of Russell Westbrook Sr. and Shannon Horton. He has one younger brother, Raynard. Growing up in Hawthorne, Westbrook was a childhood friend of Khelcey Barrs, a talented young player who had been attracting interest from major college basketball schools as a 6-foot-6, 200 pound high school sophomore. However, Barrs died fromcardiomegaly after playing a series of late night basketball games in 2004. Westbrook wears a "KB3" wristband and has "KB3" on his sneakers in honor of Khelcey. High school career Westbrook attended Leuzinger High School in Lawndale, California. He entered Leuzinger High School as an unheralded 5-foot-8, 140-pound freshman point guard with size 14 shoes. He didn't start on his school's varsity team until his junior year, and did not receive his first college recruiting letter until the summer before his senior year. Westbrook reached his adult height of 6′3″ that same summer. During his senior year, Westbrook averaged 25.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 2.3 assists and led them to a 25-4 record. That same season, he recorded 14 double-doubles, scored 30 or more points on eight separate occasions, and registered a career-best 51 points at Carson on January 6, 2006. Westbrook did not attract much attention from top college basketball programs until Ben Howland offered him a scholarship to play for the UCLA Bruins after Jordan Farmar declared for the NBA Draft. College career Freshmen Year Westbrook wore number 0 throughout his career at UCLA. In his freshman year, he played as a back up to Darren Collison and was primarily used as a defender and energy player off the bench. Westbrook averaged 3.4 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists on the year. UCLA advanced to the Final Four during Westbrook's freshmen, where they lost to eventual national championFlorida, 76–66. Sophomore Year Westbrook had a breakout year in his sophomore year and became a starter. He was first in assists and steals with 4.3 and 1.6 per game, third in scoring with 14.5 points per game and third in rebounds with 153 while shooting 46.5 percent from the field. Westbrook tallied 28 double-figure performances and two 20-plus games on the season including career-high 22 points on 10-19 in the Final Four loss to Memphis. During his sophomore year he became known for defending the opposing guards well. Following the end of the regular season,he was named All-Pac-10 Third Team and won Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year. After two years at UCLA, he decided to forgo his final two years and enter the 2008 NBA draft. NBA career Oklahoma City Thunder (2008–present) Rookie and first playoffs (2008–10) Westbrook was selected 4th overall in the 2008 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics (later known as the Oklahoma City Thunder due to sale of team and relocation). He signed with the team on July 5, 2008.9 On March 2, 2009 Westbrook recorded his first career triple double with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He was the first rookie since Chris Paul and the third rookie in Sonics/Thunder franchise history (Art Harris and Gary Payton) to record a triple-double.10 Westbrook averaged 15.3 points, 5.3 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.3 steals on the season. He finished fourth in the 2008–09 NBA Rookie of the Year voting behind Rookie of the Year winner Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls), O. J. Mayo (Memphis Grizzlies) and Brook Lopez (New Jersey Nets).11 He was named to the NBA's All-Rookie First Team. In his second year, and first season as a full-time starter, Westbrook went on to average 16.1 points, 8.0 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.3 steals on the season. On April 4, 2010, he recorded 10 points and a career-high 16 assists in a 116-108 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Thunder made a huge turnaround by more than doubling their wins from the previous season and qualified for the playoffs with a 50–32 record. However, the Thunder were eliminated by the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in the first round. In the series, Westbrook stepped up his play from the regular season, averaging 20.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 3.2 steals. All-Star and playoff success (2010–13) On November 26, 2010, Westbrook scored a then-career-high 43 points against the Indiana Pacers.12 On December 1, 2010, he scored 38 points with 9 assists and achieved a new career-high of 15 rebounds in a triple-overtime win over the New Jersey Nets. Westbrook was selected by the NBA head coaches to be a Western Conference reserve for the 2011 NBA All-Star Game.13 This was his first all-star appearance. Westbrook finished the season with averages of 21.9 points, 8.2 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.9 steals. He was named to the All-NBA Second Team for the first time. The Thunder finished the season at 55–27 and lost to the eventual world champion Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals. Westbrook averaged 23.8 points, 6.4 assists and 5.4 rebounds in the playoffs. In the 2011-12 season, Westbrook was again selected by the coaches to participate in the 2012 NBA All-Star Game. On March 23, 2012, he scored a career-high 45 points in a 149–140 double overtime win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. He averaged 23.6 points, 5.5 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.7 steals for the lockout-shortened season and was voted to the All-NBA Second Team for the second year in a row. Westbrook helped lead the Thunder to the NBA Finals for the first time since the franchise relocated but OKC would lose in five games to the Miami Heat. On June 12, in game 1 of the Finals, Westbrook recorded 27 points and 11 assists in a 105-94 victory. He joined Michael Jordan as the only players with 25+ points and 10+ assists in their NBA Finals debut. In a game 4 loss, Westbrook scored a playoff career high 43 points.14 Westbrook was once again selected for the NBA All-Star Game. He finished the 2012–13 season averaging 23.2 points, 7.4 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game.15Westbrook helped lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to the playoffs and the #1 seed in the Western Conference. They would go on to face the 8th seed Houston Rockets in the first round. On April 25, 2013, in the second game of the series, Westbrook injured his right knee when Rockets guard Patrick Beverley collided with him in an attempt to steal the ball. Although Westbrook was clearly bothered by the injury, he would continue playing and finished the game with 29 points. It was then revealed the next day that he had suffered a slight tear in his right meniscus.16 He had surgery on April 27, 2013, and was declared out for the rest of the playoffs.17 Without Westbrook, the Thunder defeated the Rockets in 6 games but fell to the Memphis Grizzlies in 5 games in the next round. Westbrook was named to the All-NBA Second Team for the third consecutive year. Injury and comeback (2013–present) 2013–14 season Prior to the start of the 2013–14 season, Westbrook had a second surgery on his right knee, which set back his return to basketball.18 Despite reports that he would miss the first two weeks of the regular season, Westbrook would miss only the first two games. On December 25, 2013, Westbrook recorded 14 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists as Oklahoma City beat the New York Knicks 123-94. This was just the eighth triple-double on Christmas Day in NBA history. The win was also the largest margin of victory in a Christmas Day game in NBA history.19 On the day after his Christmas-day game, it was announced that Westbrook would undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and would be out until after the All-Star break.20 During this time, The Thunder were able to remain competitive despite his absence due mainly to Kevin Durant's stellar play. Westbrook returned to the lineup on February 20, 2014. He played the rest of the season on limited minutes and sat out the second night of back-to-backs. On March 4, 2014, Westbrook recorded his second triple-double of the season. He recorded 13 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds, in just 20 minutes in a 125–92 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. This was the second fastest recorded triple-double in NBA history.21 Westbrook and the Thunder finished with a 59-23 record earning the #2 seed in the Western Conference. They advanced to the Western Conference Finals where they faced the San Antonio Spurs. On May 27, 2014, in a game 4 victory, Westbrook recorded 40 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists and 5 steals. In doing so, he joined Michael Jordan as the only other player to post those numbers in a playoff game. The Thunder lost the series to the eventual NBA champion Spurs in six games. Westbrook averaged 26.7 points, 8.1 assists, and 7.3 rebounds in the postseason, and became the first player since Oscar Robertson in 1964 to average at least 26 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds in the playoffs. 2014–15 season After scoring 38 points in a 89–106 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2014–15 season opener, Westbrook suffered a small fracture of the second metacarpal in his right hand the following game against the Los Angeles Clippers and subsequently missed 14 games with the injury. In Westbrook's first game back, he led the Thunder to a win over the Knicks with a 32-point, 7 rebound, and 8 assist performance. Durant returned the following game to face the New Orleans Pelicans in Westbrook and Durant's first game played together on the season. They went on to lead the Thunder on a seven-game winning streak to bring the Thunder back into playoff contention. On January 16, 2015, Westbrook recorded his ninth career triple-double with 17 points, 15 rebounds, and a career-high 17 assists in a 127–115 win over the Golden State Warriors, becoming just the fifth person in NBA history to record a stat line of 15–15–15 in a game. After tying a career-high 45 points on February 4, 2015 in a 102–91 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Westbrook broke that mark to score a new career-high of 48 points two days later, this time in a 113–116 loss to the Pelicans. After being injured the previous year, Westbrook returned to the All-Star game in 2015. He tallied 41 points, and was named the All-Star MVP. He scored 27 points in 11 minutes in the first half, setting an All-Star record for points in a half, and finished one point shy of the All-Star game record set by Wilt Chamberlain (42) in 1962. For the first time in his career Westbrook was named the February, March, and April Western Conference Player of the Month. He averaged 31.2 points, 9.1 rebounds and 10.3 assists per game in the month of February to become just the second player in NBA history to average 30 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists per game for a calendar month with at least 10 games played, joining Oscar Robertson, who accomplished the feat multiple times. He went on a remarkable streak in February and March 2015 when he posted four consecutive triple-doubles and became the first player since Michael Jordan did the same feat in 1989. He was also the first player since Jordan in 1989 to have back-to-back triple-doubles with at least 40 points. His streak came to an end on March 8 against the Chicago Bulls when he recorded 43 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. On March 8 he recorded his fifth triple-double in six games and made it six triple-double in eight games when he posted another on March 13 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He went on to record three more triple-doubles to finish the season. On April 12, he scored a career-high 54 points on 21-of-43 shooting in a losing effort to the Indiana Pacers. He finished as scoring champion of the 2014-15 NBA regular season with an average of 28.1 points per game, become the first scoring leader since Tracy McGrady in 2003-04 whose team did not make the playoffs. 2015–16 season On October 28, 2015, Westbrook opened the Thunder's 2015–16 season with a game-high 33 points and 10 assists in a 112–106 win over the San Antonio Spurs.42 Two days later, in a double-overtime win over the Orlando Magic, Westbrook and Kevin Durant became the first pair of teammates to each score at least 40 points in a single game sinceMichael Jordan and Scottie Pippen accomplished the feat in 1996. Westbrook had 48 and Durant had 43 as the Thunder defeated the Magic 139–136.43 On November 10, Westbrook recorded his first triple-double of the season (20th of career) with 22 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds in a 125–101 win over the Washington Wizards.44 Three days later, he recorded his second straight triple-double, recording 21 points, a then career-high 17 rebounds and 11 assists in a 102–85 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.45 On December 27, in a win over the Denver Nuggets, Westbrook had 30 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, just missing what would have been his fourth triple-double of the season. In that game, Westbrook and Durant became the first teammates to each have at least 25 points and 10 assists in a regulation game since Utah's John Stockton (31 points, 11 assists) and Karl Malone (27 points, 10 assists) on February 2, 1996.46 On January 4, he was named NBA Western Conference co-Player of the Month for December alongside Durant.47 On January 20, he recorded 16 points, 15 assists, eight rebounds and five steals against the Charlotte Hornets, becoming just the fourth player in NBA history with at least 15 points, 15 assists, five rebounds and five steals in a game.4849 On February 3, he recorded his third straight triple-double and eighth of the season with 24 points, a career-high 19 rebounds and 14 assists in a 117–114 win over the Orland Magic.50 Westbrook was voted to start in his first All-Star Game in 2016,51 and he earned his second MVP award after a 196–173 win by the West. He recorded 31 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and five steals in 22 minutes, and became the first player in All-Star history to win consecutive MVPs outright. Bob Pettit is the other player to have won two back-to-back awards, winning in 1958 and sharing it with Elgin Baylor in 1959.52 On February 19, he recorded 23 points and a then career-high 18 assists in a loss to the Indiana Pacers.53 On March 9, he recorded his 11th triple-double of the season with 25 points, a career-high 20 assists and 11 rebounds in a 120–108 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The stat line marked the NBA's first triple-double with at least 25 points, 20 assists and 10 rebounds since Magic Johnson did it for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1988, and the first with at least 20 points and 20 assists since Rod Strickland did it for the Washington Wizards in 1998.54 On March 14, he had 17 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds against the Portland Trail Blazers for his career-best 12th triple-double of the season. International career In 2010, he was on the FIBA World Championship team in Istanbul, Turkey where Team USA won gold for the first time since 1994. Westbrook later played for the 2012 Summer Olympic team in London, where he also won a gold medal. At the 2012 Olympics in Olympics, he played a key role off the bench, scoring 13 points in a gold medal game victory against Spain. Player profile Westbrook is a 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) point guard who has established himself as one of the most athletic players in NBA history. He attacks the basket relentlessly with an incredible ability to finish at the rim.44 With his opponents' knowledge of Westbrook's will to attack the rim, he will frequently pull up for the medium range jump shot.4546 Westbrook creates good scoring opportunities for his teammates47 resulting in him averaging 7.0 assists per game for his career. He is also one of the best rebounding guards in the league, averaging 5.1 rebounds for his career. Add to that, his willingness to defend the opposing team's best guard, Westbrook is widely recognized as one of the best all-around guards in the NBA recording 11 triple doubles including in four straight games, the first player since Michael Jordan in 1989 to have four consecutive triple-doubles. A weakness cited in Westbrook's game is his three-point shooting. He has averages 30.1% on three-point field goal attempts for his career. NBA career statistics Regular season Playoffs Triple-doubles Awards and honors NBA * 4× NBA All-Star (2011–2013, 2015) * NBA All-Star Game MVP (2015) * 4× All-NBA Second Team (2011–2013, 2015) * NBA All-Rookie First Team (2009) College * 2008 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year34 * 2008 All-Pac-10 Third Team35 * 2008 CollegeInsider.com All-Defensive Team High school * First-team All-CIF Division I * Third-team All-State * 2x Most Valuable Player of the Bay League Off the court Endorsements He is known for his outlandish style off the court and has even been called a "fashion icon".42 In October 2012, Westbrook signed with the Jordan Brand.36 His first commercial was with the Jordan Brand and Champs in which a high school athlete purchased Jordan gear from Champs and transformed into Westbrook and won a state championship.37 In November 2013, Westbrook signed with Kings and Jaxs Boxer Briefs. He stated that, "I have always loved fashion so working with Kings & Jaxs was a natural fit as we both have a fearless and creative approach to style."38 Westbrook has also appeared in numerous commercials for Subway. Personal life Westbrook is a Christian. On August 29, 2015, Westbrook married his college sweetheart, Nina Earl, whom he met at UCLA See also * 2006–07 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team * 2007–08 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team Category:NBA players